


Old Soldiers

by Mareel



Series: Always [67]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Birthday, Destroy Ending, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Memories, Post-Canon, Post-Mass Effect 3, Romance, kaidanappreciationweek2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4532256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mareel/pseuds/Mareel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Better with age.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in 2201, fourteen years after the Reaper War was won ( _Mass Effect 3_ : Extended Cut, _destroy_ ending). At the time, Shepard had been found barely alive and faced a lengthy recovery. Now Shepard and Kaidan, at home in Vancouver, remember the war and all that came after. It is Shepard's voice.
> 
> Posted on Tumblr for Kaidan Appreciation Week 2015, Day 7: Future

 

"Hey, Kaidan!"

I'm a little late getting home this evening, having had an errand to run. I hope Kaidan hasn't been cooking something special that I've ruined by my delay.

I don't smell anything, so maybe that's not a concern. I don't see Kaidan at first either, but his old hoodie is tossed on the back of the couch and his running shoes are by the front door. Depending on his route, it might have been wet underfoot, although the rain had stopped by midday. 

He undoubtedly heard the front door opening, but waits for me to come to him. He's out on the deck, a book tablet propped up against his bent knees as he relaxes on the lounger. He smiles up at me and offers his bottle of beer. 

I realize why he didn't get up when I notice the ice pack on his ankle.

"You okay? Looks like your ankle's bothering you."

"Nah. I'm fine. Twisted it a little is all. Just thought I'd ice it and give it some rest."

I pull the door closed behind me and offer him the package I've brought.

"Happy Birthday, Kaidan."

"Hey, I guess it is."

His smile lights his face. He loves birthdays, even if it means getting older. I prefer to forget my own these days, not that he'd ever let me.

"Fifty years. That's a big deal. I brought you something."

"You didn't need to bring me anything, John. Just yourself. Now get your ass over here and kiss me. Fifty kisses might be a start."

He shifts his legs to make room for me next to him on the wooden deck chaise, the ice pack tumbling to the ground, forgotten.

"Sounds like a good plan for the evening. But before we get distracted and lose count, you should open your present."

I hadn't done much with wrapping it up, but let the shopkeeper put the bottle in a gift bag printed with red maple leaves. He makes quick work of the knotted drawstring at the top... always reminds me of a kid on Christmas morning when he unwraps anything.

"Fifteen-year old single malt. This is great! You don't see much of that around."

"Do the math... that whisky was made before the war."

He examines the label more closely. "So it's a survivor. Like us. I like the idea of that."

"I had to do a little searching around. Called in a favor or two. You're worth it."

"Let's not wait for any time more important than right now to open it."

I like his thinking. I lean in to steal a quick kiss, murmuring as I do. "Don't get up. I'll go grab a couple of glasses."

_________________________________

 

"To old soldiers, Shepard."

I touch my glass to his, our eyes already focused on one another. 

"I remember the first time you called us that... in London when we were afraid it was goodbye."

We each take a sip. It's smooth and smoky, a Scottish Islay malt. 

"Yeah. Hard to forget that day, John. You said when it was all over you'd be waiting for me. I was going to hold you to that, you know."

Kaidan's gaze has shifted out toward the bay, remembering. I lean close again to kiss him, tasting the peat smoke on his lips. 

"I _was_ there. And you showed up. And you're still here, Kaidan. That means a lot."

He shifts his glass to his other hand so he can brush his fingertips against my cheek.

"We hadn't had enough time together. I needed to hold you again. I was so afraid that all I'd have left would be your dog tags... if that much." His hand lingers against my cheek and I cover it with mine, feeling his trembling a little. 

"We _were_ old soldiers then. Old when we should have been young, Kaidan." I kiss his fingertips before letting my hand drop. 

"What does that make us now?"

I give the first reply that comes to mind. " _Alive_. We're alive and together. But we've seen a lot – horror, devastation... death..."

Kaidan picks up the thought, continuing. "Courage, strength, hope... love. Even as the world was ending, we had love."

"Yeah we did. Something too important to let go. Even Javik recognized how much I needed you in my life. Maybe that's why we lived." 

"Someone to live for, John."

Kaidan carefully sets his glass on the side table next to the bottle and draws his knees up, pulling me against him to sit between them. His arms wrap my shoulders, hands sliding down my arms. They're warm, but I shiver as he kisses my neck, just behind my earlobe. I feel his response, hardening against me. 

I might need another sip of that whisky. My throat is dry as my breath catches when his hands slip under my shirt, wandering.

_________________________________

 

We're old enough to want to enjoy the journey as well as the destination, neither of us in a hurry to push this into urgency just yet. His hands are gentle as he maps familiar territory, pressing kisses to my neck in reward for my responses to his exploration. 

As I'm getting closer to losing myself in his touch, something occurs to me. About the whisky. Partly. "Fifteen years... that has another meaning too, Kaidan."

He rubs his cheek against my hair. I think we both enjoy the slightly rough sensation – my close-cropped hair against his shadow of a beard. "I can think of one thing, but it would make you kind of a romantic, John."

I turn enough in his arms to be able to meet his eyes. "Guilty as charged. Add fifteen kisses to tonight's promise. If you're keeping track. One for every year together."

"I lost count a while ago. Fifteen years... we've been through a lot. Good times and hard times, even after the war."

My hand searches for his, clasping tightly. "Yeah... as we tried to find a way to get past the pain and grief and guilt... the nightmares."

He returns the squeeze of my hand. How many times has he done that? More than I can remember, not beginning or ending with those weeks in the hospital when it was the only touch available to us. 

"We needed to learn to _live_ , Shepard. To be more than just survivors."

I nod, settling myself with my head against his chest. "Celebrating the small moments. Things that were important to _us_..." 

"Your first steps alone."

That brings a memory... letting go of the handrail and taking three shaky steps into Kaidan's waiting arms. 

"Your first inappropriate use of biotics in bed." I press a kiss to his throat, my lips lingering to catch the strong pulse there. "You made me feel like I was still sexy to you... broken as I was, you still wanted me."

He huffs a little at my choice of words. "Hardly _inappropriate_. What's the use of having biotics if we can't enjoy them? And just so you know... there was never a day I didn't want you."

A warmth washes over me. I don't think it's the alcohol... or his biotics. It's just Kaidan. His arm tightens around me again, holding me close, whispering. "Watching the sunset over English Bay, thinking about our future."

I follow his gaze out across the bay, my voice barely more than a murmur. "Finally realizing that we _had_ a future, we had choices."

His voice is as smooth and smoky as the forgotten whisky. And it warms every part of me more than any drink ever could. His eyes catch mine again, gold-flecked in the sunset light as he share one more moment.

"The day you said _yes_."

I lose any vestige of control or need for it. I want him in every way possible and let my kiss tell him so, together with the last words we'll need for awhile.

"Kaidan, you know I'll keep saying _yes_ to you every day of my life."

_________________________________

 


End file.
